And it’s on!
June 6th 2008 08:34
Our working boy Cappy, doesn’t like our wether, Jamma. I don’t know if he thinks Jamma is still entire (he was castrated many years ago), or whether Jamma just looked at Cappy the wrong way at some point. In any case, I often find them having spitting and screaming matches with each other across the fence.
Jamma lives with Rainy, and recently Marco as well. The three boys are a super team - I think Jamma likes to have the little charges to take under his wing. Cappy lives with Ol’ Bob who is in his late teens (at least!). Cappy’s fine with Ol’ Bob.
Anyway, today I heard screeching coming from Cappy and Bob’s paddock. It sounded like pacas having a go (you get to know the sound), which was a worry as those two have been living together for years without any problem.
I ran out and there’s Jamma, Rainy and Marco right in the middle of Cappy’s territory and there’s a showdown in progress, between Cappy and Jamma.
They were just standing there but it was obvious they'd been fighting as both boys were covered in spit and had their lips dropped (a sure sign of a disagreement). On closer inspection, Jamma also had a bloody ear, which is typical of these bouts. The ears, legs and testicles are what they tend to go for.
Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few alpaca boys with battle scars. Some have horrific ear injuries because if they have ear tags, these can be grabbed and ripped out, tearing the ear as it goes. The fights can get pretty nasty - which is why we keep as few intact males as possible here and keep them separate where possible too.
The latch on the gate is just a bit of baling twine at the moment as the post has pulled over and the chain doesn’t quite reach. We've got our fencing guy booked in already to remedy that. It was windy here this morning, so I’m guessing that the gate may have come unhitched and blown open. It’s also possible someone may have inadvertently left it unhitched.
I feel sorry for Jamma as he’s not an agro boy at all. And he’s a wether too, so absolutely no threat to anyone. The other boys, Rainy and Marco, despite also being entire (though still young) weren’t bothered at all. Cappy just went for Jamma.
Cappy’s quite a bit smaller than Jamma, so he’s a brave (or stupid) little guy to think he could take him on. At 12 years old this year, Jamma’s much older, and he'd prefer to just eat grass, but I still think he’d ultimately clobber Cappy if they were left together. Problem is Cappy’s the working boy here, so he needs to keep his “bits”.
So Cappy’s got his own paddock for now. It was easiest to just put him out through the gate. Ol’ Bob wouldn’t follow (sensible fellow). Jamma’s ear didn’t look too bad and there’s peace out there again for now, so I’ll sort it out tomorrow.
Jamma lives with Rainy, and recently Marco as well. The three boys are a super team - I think Jamma likes to have the little charges to take under his wing. Cappy lives with Ol’ Bob who is in his late teens (at least!). Cappy’s fine with Ol’ Bob.
Anyway, today I heard screeching coming from Cappy and Bob’s paddock. It sounded like pacas having a go (you get to know the sound), which was a worry as those two have been living together for years without any problem.
I ran out and there’s Jamma, Rainy and Marco right in the middle of Cappy’s territory and there’s a showdown in progress, between Cappy and Jamma.
They were just standing there but it was obvious they'd been fighting as both boys were covered in spit and had their lips dropped (a sure sign of a disagreement). On closer inspection, Jamma also had a bloody ear, which is typical of these bouts. The ears, legs and testicles are what they tend to go for.
Jamma's ear
Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few alpaca boys with battle scars. Some have horrific ear injuries because if they have ear tags, these can be grabbed and ripped out, tearing the ear as it goes. The fights can get pretty nasty - which is why we keep as few intact males as possible here and keep them separate where possible too.
The latch on the gate is just a bit of baling twine at the moment as the post has pulled over and the chain doesn’t quite reach. We've got our fencing guy booked in already to remedy that. It was windy here this morning, so I’m guessing that the gate may have come unhitched and blown open. It’s also possible someone may have inadvertently left it unhitched.
Unhappy Paca
I feel sorry for Jamma as he’s not an agro boy at all. And he’s a wether too, so absolutely no threat to anyone. The other boys, Rainy and Marco, despite also being entire (though still young) weren’t bothered at all. Cappy just went for Jamma.
Cappy’s quite a bit smaller than Jamma, so he’s a brave (or stupid) little guy to think he could take him on. At 12 years old this year, Jamma’s much older, and he'd prefer to just eat grass, but I still think he’d ultimately clobber Cappy if they were left together. Problem is Cappy’s the working boy here, so he needs to keep his “bits”.
So Cappy’s got his own paddock for now. It was easiest to just put him out through the gate. Ol’ Bob wouldn’t follow (sensible fellow). Jamma’s ear didn’t look too bad and there’s peace out there again for now, so I’ll sort it out tomorrow.
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
I just hope that Manly one is a good little producer, I envy you, but still took the trip, it's one of the best things here, I reckon, I'm sure you deserve it.
Good luck.
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
Got to say, I won't be retiring on my blogging income anytime soon. We are into dollars now though, rather than cents.
At least you'll know where to stay when you're in Sydney. Cheers.